Pretty sure I’d be happier if I didn’t have to work for a living.
It is. "Capitalism is for children" said Adam Phillips [1]
You cannot be a fully fledged adult, a self-determined being, under conditions of wage slavery.
Education is set up not to allow graceful separation into adulthood, as most cultures have historically done, but to transfer dependency to a new set of masters.
Late capitalism in particular, with its intrusive lack of boundaries, neurotic management, measurement, bureaucracy and surveillance, or any similar state-controlled apparatus such as in China, is, as that line in "The Matrix" goes - a prison for your mind.
Philosophers criticised the Church (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) as "patently infantile family values" to keep people in subjugation. We have largely overthrown that aspect of patriarchal religion only to replace it with a Corporate equivalent.
> I'm looking for solutions to hack this
How did occidental culture dethrone the Church?
It didn't happen in one day, when everyone decided to live a secular life. For centuries individuals stood up, called themselves "atheists" and refused to join in the rituals. They were punished and suffered pain and ostracism.
The problem is, for the aspiring Hedonist, entering into a world of pain to champion a principle that people should have pleasurable lives, won't fly for any but the most unselfish and far sighted.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Phillips_(psychologist)
Most cultures historically didn't have any education (as we understand it now), with some rare exceptions (wealthy people hiring tutors for their children). Children just started working very early and learned via observation and on-the-job training.
I'd say that's untrue.
What I am particularly thinking about is rites of passage in primitive cultures. Education may have been as simple as learning to hunt, light a fire, fight, play with children, and cook food - but there were teachings and tests the tribe provided.
> (as we understand it now)
My point would not be that that's trivially true (nothing is as we understand it now if history implies progress), but that education as we understand it today is precisely the functional slight of hand I describe. A study of Mann, Dewey and the Prussian system introduced in North America will bear that out.
Of course, for the fully self-actualised person of good social conscience, learning does not have to align with the formula of state school and higher education. People with the courage to follow different paths are rare, or they have unusual parents who push them down that route (home-schooling, Steiner/Waldorf etc).
OMG, for a moment there i thought you were reading my mind! I've struggled professionally the last few years on this very topic. The only partial solution that i can think of - so far only as an experiment - is to minimize my cost of living, start to slowly partially retire, and move towards being a contract coder - either for corporate gigs or as a sub-contractor for other dev contractors. I figure being a coder (and likely lower level coder, not being like an engineering manager or anything like that anymore), might also allow me the freedom to work remotely, meaning that i can travel a slight bit more. And working in this fashion might give me the freedom to move onto another project/contract if/when i get bored of a particular project and/or client. Its an experiment to be sure...but frankly, that's the only thing that i can think of that might help me. I hope this helps! Happy to discuss more if you have private feedback. (My email is in my profile.)
EDIT: I failed to add that one element that is somewhat holding me back from fully diving into this mode of working right now is (what i feel is) one of the biggest hurdles to entrepreneurial freedom in America: being able to reasonably afford good, solid healthcare. (This is not meant to be political, just adding it in as another cost of living....and for myself, its not a trivial cost.)
Then occupy yourself with something you love, but not alcohol, tv, drugs, sloth etc. as this will probably lead to depression / addiction.
For HN stereotype that could be coding the side project which is always more fun than coding at work, even though it is still bashing keys and occasionally swearing at the monitor.
What are some examples of creature comforts here? And what does it mean to “swap” them for free time?
I understood the rest of your reply.
It was soft core in the sense we were close to civilisation and no one was going to die.
The main takeaways is being prepared esp. how to source water (bring water, filters, spares, more spares, ways to start fire to boil water) and calling for help (no reason to not get a beacon). And how to treat snake bites (because they can kill) was drilled in.
There is a belief, that I have lived myself that this is the only way.
A different way is to say do a year on 9-5 and year off living off less money. Or work half the hours.
These alternatives aren’t push button they require a lot of negotiation and some work to set up for yourself.